War Machine: Toughest Part of Jail Is Getting Out

War
Machine thought he’d done his time when he was released from
jail in July 2011. He got back to training and even scored a win
over Roger
Huerta, but in February he was sent back to jail over a prior
incident.

Now he’s once again a free man and hoping to restart his fight
career in Bellator.

“Last time I got out, I didn’t do anything wrong,” War Machine,
formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, told the
Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I went back to jail
for an old, old case. When I got out last year from jail, it had
been seven months and I hadn’t done nothing wrong. I was just doing
the same exact thing as I’m doing now. I was already making the
effort to change after the first sentence.”

His plan to stay out of trouble is to stay out of bars and
clubs.

“I don’t get in trouble anywhere else,” he said. “It’s not as fun.
I can’t have the same amount of fun as I want to have. Pretty much
I just sit at home all day and play on the Internet and invite
girls over late at night for a powwow. That’s all I do. I train and
I come home. My life is just training, food, Internet and
late-night booty. That’s it.”

In particular, War Machine
is focused on getting back in fight shape after spending months in
a jail cell. So far it’s been easier than his first time.

“It was tough, particularly the first time when I first got out,”
he said. “I was horrible. I was getting destroyed. All my students
were just beating the crap out of me. I had no strength. Everything
sucked. But this time coming out, surprisingly it was a lot easier
than last time. I don’t know why. I don’t know if it was just
because psychologically I already did it once and it was easier the
second time around, but this time it wasn’t as hard to get back in
the swing of things. But it’s still tough. Besides training, it was
a lot of emotional anxiety. A lot of feelings hit you when you
first get out.”

In fact, he said getting out is actually tougher than being in
jail.

“It’s so hard when you get out,” War Machine
said. “Getting out is the toughest, scariest part. That’s why these
guys stay in there. It’s just easier.”

The 31-year-old is expected to debut with Bellator next year when
the promotion moves to Spike TV. Of course, Bellator has received
some criticism for promoting a fighter with a criminal record, but
War
Machine remains grateful for the opportunity.

“I get a lot of crap for my out-of-the-cage antics and stuff, but
I’ve never acted like a fool in the cage,” he said. “I’ve never
disrespected no one in the cage. I’ve never acted like an idiot
ever. I come to fight and I’m professional. I don’t play any games.
I try to win. I try to put on a good show. I’m a professional when
I’m in that cage. I might get a little wild on the outside and say
funny things and be a goofball, but when I’m in there, I’m all
business. I think that’s what I really should be judged for when it
comes to fighting because that’s my job. My job is to fight. That’s
what I do. Everything else is pretty much my personal life.”